Engle's Angle

Amidst all the political coverage in the newspapers today, a letter writer to the Sun-Sentinel had the most interesting take on the surprising ouster of political veteran Jim Scott by lawyer Ken Keechl. Fort Lauderdale's Christopher Engle wrote:

"This campaign was another example of the increasingly important vote of the gay community in the Fort Lauderdale/Wilton Manors area. Ken Keechl campaigned ona platform of fiscal common sense, but in addition to a moderate, centrist platform, it was clear how strongly heavily gay neighborhoods supported his election. Keechl signs were everywhere, and his election was a rallying cry for gay people to get out and vote. Fort Lauderdale politicians, beware: You ignore the growing gay community in our city at great peril to your reelection."

Engle is, of course, right on the money.

After the jump: Nelson's Son Goes Caveman and Mayor Naugle Laments Political Massacre

The Nelson Boy

-- You know, I want to make a joke about U.S. Senator Bill Nelson's son getting hauled off to jail after the politican's victory party in Orlando. But you read Erika Beras's story in the Miami Herald about it and there's a dark undertone to the thing. There was a woman named Kimberly Baxter involved whom 30-year-old Charles William Nelson apparently was intent on dragging back to his hotel. At one point he dropped her to the pavement, "nearly hitting her head on the base plate of a traffic signal," Beras tells us.

-- Erika Bolstad gave me a laugh this morning when she described Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle in her political round-up story in the Herald as "a registered Democrat who frequently supports Republican candidates, including Crist."